Feeding mechanism for sewing-machines.



No. 687,971. Patented Dec. 3, I90l.

W. M. AMMERMAN.

FEEDING MECHANISM FOR SEWING MACHINES.

(Application filed Mm". 2a, 1900 (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet I.

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No. 687,97I. Patented Dec. 3, 190i.

W. lLAMIERMAN.

FEEDING MECHANISM FOR SEWING MACHINES.

(Application filed Mar. 28, 1900.) (No Model.) I 2 Sheets- Sheet 2.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

\VILLIAM lVL AMMERMAN, OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO EDWIN J.TOOF, OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT.

FEEDING MECHANISM FOR SEWING-MACHINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 687,971, dated December3, 1901. Application filed March 28, 1900. Serial No. 10,483. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM M. AMMER- MAN, a citizen of the UnitedStates, and a resident of the city and county of New Haven, State ofConnecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inFeeding Mechanism for Sewing-Machines, of which the following is aspecification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, formingpart thereof.

My invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in feedingmechanism for sewing-machines, and has for its object to provide amechanism. of this class which will be simple in construction, easilyregulated, and positive in all its movements.

With these ends in view myinvention consists in the novel constructionand combination of parts, as will hereinafter be set forth in detail andpointed out in the claim.

In the drawings, Figure l is a bottom view of a sewing-machine embodyingmy invention. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the rear end of the machinewith the frame and certain of the parts broken away and in section.Figs. 3 and 4 are vertical transverse sections through the rear end ofthe frame, showing different positions of the feed or stitch regulatingmechanism. Figs. 5, 6, and 7 are detail views of certain of the parts tobe hereinafter referred to.

To explain in detail, the frame of the machine, comprising the bed-plate1 and its attached bracket-arm 2, the main or driving shaft 3, journaledin the upper horizontal portion of said bracket-arm and provided with acam or eccentric 4t thereon, the horizontallyarranged vibratingshuttle-lever 6, pivotally supported on the under side of the bed-plate,the lever 7, pivotally supported in the bracketarm and provided with afork at its upper end which embraces the said cam or eccentric 4 on thedriving-shaft to receive motion therefrom and with a ball at its lowerend working in a fork at the rear end of the shuttle-lever to operatethe latter, and the pushrod 8, loosely connected at one end with alateral arm or extension 9 of the shuttle-lever to be operated therebyand at its opposite end provided with a bend or angle 10, formed thereinto reciprocate back and forth through an opening in the feed-bar 11 andcommunicate a vertical movement to the latter, are all, so far asdescribed, of usual construction as found in the Domestic sew-.

tions, the vertical movement of the feed-bar being made positive by theaction of the pushrod through the opening therein, as described.

The means as herein shown for securing connection between the push-rod 8and the feed-lever 12 are the same as shown and described in anotherapplication of mine now pending, filed December 31, 1891, Serial No.416,647; and it consists ofa collar 13, in which the end of the push-rodis supported to slide, (see Fig. 7,) provided with a threaded stem 14,which is engaged and supported by an adj usting-nut 15, carried by thefeed-lever 12. This nut 15 is seated within an opening in said lever 12,so as to be capable of turning therein, and is held verticallystationary relative thereto by means of a screw 16, which is located inthe lever with one end projecting into an annular groove 17 in said nut,as shown. A milled head 18 at the lower end of the nut 15 serves as ameans whereby the latter may be turned or rotated so as to raise orlower the collar 13 and connected push-rod 8, and thereby adjust thevertical movement of the feed above the throat-plate, as will be readilyunderstood.

The vibrating feed-lever 12 is pivotally connected at 19 with abracket-arm 20 on the under side of the bed-plate, and is operated froma cam 21 on the driving-shaft 3 through the medium of a pitman-lever 22.This lever 22 is yoked at its upper end over the said cam to bereciprocated vertically thereby, and at its lower end is rounded andpassed through an opening in the rear end of the feed-lever 12. As ameans for causinga lateral or vibrating movement to the lower end of thepitman-lever 22, so as to actuate the feed-lever, I have connected thesame with a fulcrum-pin 23, through the medium of a'link 24:, whichlatter is pivotally connected at its opposite ends with said fulcrum-pinand the lever 22, respectively. By this construction, the fulcrum-pinbeing in proper position relative to the point of connection between thelink and the lever 22, the lever-connecting.

end of said link is caused to move in an are at an angle to thedirection of reciprocation of the lever 22, and so cause a lateral orvibratory movement of the latter, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig.3.

In order that the lateral or vibratory movement of the lever 22 may bevaried, so as to vary the horizontal or feeding movement of the feed-barthrough the medium of the lever 12 and so change the length of stitch, Ihave supported said fulcrum-pin 23 upon a m'ovable lever 25. This lever25, which Iterm the stitch-regulator, is pivotally connected at one endwith the bed-plate of the machine by means of a pivot pin or screw 26,-and at its opposite end projects through a slot 27 in the arm 2 andthrough a second slot 28 in a plate 29, which latter is secured in afixed position on the bed-plate in front of the vertical portion of thearm 2, as shown. The plate 29 is formed in the arc of a circle struckfrom the pivot of the regulating-lever 25, so that the free end of thelatter, which is screw-threaded, may be engaged by a thumb-screw 30 andclamped thereby in any desired adjusted position, the said lever beingprovided with a fixed collar 31 at the under side of the plate 29, whichcoacts with the thumb screw in clamping the opposite sides of saidplate.

By moving the free end of the regulatorlever 25 to the lower end of theslot 28 in the plate 29, and thereby bringing the link 24 to a positionsubstantially at right angles to the lever 22, as show-n in Fig. 4, theare described by the lever-connecting end of said link will besubstantially parallel with the lever, and so communicate no lateralmovement thereto,

in which event there will of course be no hori zontal movement of thefeed. By raising the end of the regulator-lever toward the upper end ofthe slot 28, however, the position of the fulcrum 23 is so changed as tocause the lever-connecting end of the link to swing at ,a greater angleto the lever 22, as shown in Fig. 3, and so increase the vibratory throwof the latter, and thereby the length of stitch.

The plate 29 is preferably provided with an index on its face side, asshown in Fig. 5, and an indexpointer 33 is carried by theregulator-lever 25 on the face of said plate as a convenient means foraccurately regulating the length of the stitch.

Having thus set forth my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Pat ent, is"

In a sewing-machine, the combination,with the feed device, and means forcommunicating a vertical movement thereto, of the driving-shaft having acam or eccentric thereon, a horizontally vibrating feed -leveroperatively connected at its forward end with said feed device and atits rear end provided with an opening therein, avertically-reciprocating pitman-lever actuated by said cam or eccentricand provided atits lower end with a rounded portion which extendsloosely through said opening in the feed-lever, a regulating-levercarrying a fulcrum, said lever being pivoted at one end upon astationary support and at its opposite end extending adjacent to anareshaped plate, a clamping device cooperating with said lever andarc-shaped plate for holding the lever in a stationary adjustedposition, and a link connecting said fulcrum with said pitman-lever, forthe purpose set forth.

WILLIAM M. AMMERMAN.

Witnesses:

CHAS. F. DANE, M. L. FORREST.

